>> bye-bye. >> she's also such a tv pro that she says it right when the mikes are cut. >> she's good. >> if it's way to early, willi, what time is it? >> it's "morning joe." stick around for "the daily rundown" with mr. chuck todd. >> well, it's the closest we're ever going to get to a national debate on the debt ceiling. it was the president and the speaker in primetime. but with just one week left until the deadline, are we actually any closer to a solution? by the way, where are the votes? with prominent tea party blasting the plan, a path of 217 that doesn't include more than a handful of democrats? and chris christie goes to iowa. he's not running. we know that. but we keep for getting to compliment the current field. hmm. what's he up to? good morning from washington. i'm chuck todd. what a spectacle last night.

let's get to our first reads. the word of the day, it's dysfunction after weeks and months of intense negotiations. not only are we not closer to a deal, we might be farther away from one. listen to the two men speaking last night, the president and the speaker. >> despite our disagreements, republican leaders and i have found common ground before and i believe that enough members of both parties will ultimately put politics aside and help us make progress. >> i gave it my all. unfortunately the president would not take yes for an answer. even when we thought we might be close to an agreement, the president's demands changed. >> it was fascinating. president obama makes it sound like negotiations are still alive. speaker boehner is talking in the past tense. now listen to the two men praise their separate plans. >> the senate has introduced a plan to avoid default which makes a down payment on deficit

reduction and ensures that we don't have to go through this again in six months. i think that's a much better approach. >> the house passed a bill to raise the debt limit with bipartisan support and this week, while the senate is struggling to pass a bill filled with phony accounting and washington game mix, we're going to pass another bill. one that was developed with the support of the bipartisan leadership of the u.s. senate. >> well, it's fascinating that the president's speech is a couple of things. number one, the democrats quietly wondered why wasn't that speech given a couple weeks ago that perhaps at that time when the grand bargain was still alive, when it was still an active idea, that may be creating a public awareness campaign, pushing the public to contact congress could it move that ball forward. that said, the president's plea for the public to contact their member of congress certainly had an effect. the question is, did it have an effect that pushes republicans? now, as for speaker boehner, he might have a heavier lift ahead of him than he expected.

prominent tea party members have come out hard against this plan and president obama tried to divide the house and senate republicans last night in his own speech. listen. >> unfortunately, for the past several weeks, republican house membership members have essentially said that the oinly way to vote for the default, spending approach. >> well, how is boehner going to get his plan through the house if he knows democrats are not going to help him this time around? well, it's one sweetener is the balanced budget amendment. the question is, what version of the balanced budget amendment? as they know, there's a lot of proponents of the balanced budget amendment that the best way to give this senate a shot at supporting it, if it doesn't have that super majority tax provision in it. the one that didn't have that, that's the one that got 66 votes back in the '90s but that might not get all of the house conservatives on board. so it's going to be a little

tougher, that road ahead for boehner to get his plan through. as for reid and his plan, it's not going to be easy for him to get that through the senate because what is mitch mcconnell going to do? is he going to work at getting reid's plan through the senate and tie the two plans together that we do know is happening and the question is, does a compromise between reid and boehner happen before wednesday's votes in either the house or the senate? because at that point it makes boehner's job easier and democrats are on board. so a lot of things are taking place behind the scenes and they have not done anything to move those forward. meanwhile, battle between the two minnesotans continues. tim pawlenty went after michele

bachmann. >> there's a big difference in talking about things and getting them done. >> this is the third day in a row where we have seen tim pawlenty heat up in his rhetoric against michele bachmann. it's clearly trying to set up the two of them as they go mono on mono for this straw poll. what is interesting, there was a republican debate before the straw poll that takes place in iowa. so instead of everyone going after mitt romney, it's clear that there's going to be a little mini debate going on. all of that in the shadow of what is going on with rick perry and chris christie showing up. lots to go through. we're going to get to that later in the show. let's get to the big story. there's one week left to raise the debt ceiling. two sides feel like they are farther apart than ever. serving on the budget committee, senator, let's start with what is on the table. can you support harry reid's

plan as it stands right now in the united states senate? >> no. but i don't think that we're that far apart, chuck. if you take the mandatory spending in this deal and it seems to me at least that right now there's a higher likelihood that something gets struck up here on capitol hill. the president is out of the discussions and the speech last night, i think it was primarily political to try to get to the high ground in terms of the messaging war. and you i think diagnosed this correctly a minute ago when you said the calculation right now is what gets 217 in the house and 60 votes in the senate. >> now, let me ask you this. there's all sorts of speculation that s&p, one of the rating agencies, basically will come out and say, you know what? the boehner plan doesn't feel

like we may downgrade if it's put into effect because of the various reasons but including having another debt ceiling vote in nine months hanging over the economy. if you're hearing that from a ratings agency. forget the politics of this, does that make you defer to the boehner plan compared to a rating agency like s&p? >> i don't know at this point what the rating agencies are going to do. they have -- there's been some reporting out there about what might happen with regard to various proposals that have been out there. but i'll say this. i think the rating agencies and markets have more leverage. everybody talks about who has a leverage. the republicans, democrats, the president, the senate, the house. i think right now they are going to have leverage because they are going to bless whatever happens here. that being said, i think that gives more leverage to the house

republicans who are going to produce a plan, i think, we'll see if they get 217 through the house later this week. i think the reid plan will fail because it won't get 60 votes and the only plan out there is probably only going to be the boehner plan. >> how is it that the rating agencies will look at the -- do you really want to do this in nine months? let's be realistic. forget the politics of washington. for the economy to have another debt ceiling fight. and, look, the idea that it's not going to be a fight is naive. is that really healthy for the economy? >> well, i think it's not uncommon as you know. there have been 30 different times where the debt ceiling has been raised for six months or less. >> this is a different period. come on, we know this. >> i would rather not have this vote again in nints, to answer your question. but i don't believe that there is an opportunity between now and next tuesday to put in place a process that gets us a result.

what the boehner plan does is it addresses the issues of entitlement, and forces us to deal with that sometime before the end of the year. and we can do that. in order to solve this budget mess, we've got to do something about the mandatory spending side of the budget and what the boehner plan does is cut discreditary spending now, caps it, creates an opportunity for a balanced budget amendment vote and puts this process in place that forces a result later on in the year. i think it's got the right elements there and cut, cap, and balance which was voted on last week in both the house and senate. >> let me ask you quickly about the balanced budget amendment. the house has not decided which version they are going to introduce, the one that has a super majority on tax provision or one that is described by some as sort of a clean version, where you simply say, you've got to get a balanced budget which some anti-tax activists believe it could lead to that.

>> i would support the balanced budget amendment that's been proposed in the past that backed almost 50 years ago now got 66 votes in the united states senate. >> that was the so-called clean version, right? >> that's the so-called clean version, right. i think if it imposes a discipline on congress, it's a good thing. what form that takes remains to be seen. we have 47 republicans that have endorsed a plan here in the senate. if we could pick up 20 democrats in the senate on something that actually forces us to live within our means, that's something that i'm going to be open to supporting and in the past have supported. >> we're seven days from what is a washington-created crisis, frankly, as part of the political debate, creating this crisis on the debt limit. any regret of putting -- of seeing house republicans putting this demand that no debt limit increase, without these cuts and creating this week of

uncertainty, it's been weeks of uncertainty on this which is not healthy for the economy. >> i think if you're going to say where does that fall for that lie? the discussions have been going on with the president. the president walked away from something last week -- i shouldn't say walk away from but demanded $400 million more in revenue. the deal went away. the only plan so far that's passed either the house or the senate is the bill that passed last week in the house. i think that the house has proceeded forward. they tried to work with the president. the president couldn't come to an agreement that could get the 217 votes in the house and 60 in the senate and now they are proceeding down a path to avert a crisis next week. i hope we can do that. we need to do that. it's important for the markets and our credit rating. >> >> have they drawn too hard of a line in the sand on this? >> you mean on the current boehner plan? >> on the boehner plan, yes. >> well, i think that we've got

to get this done. and right now we don't have a lot of options. this is probably the best option on the table. i hope in the end there are going to be enough house republicans to get this through so we can avert a crisis come next tuesday. but we'll see. this is something that people feel very strongly. a lot of people in the house don't believe it will go far enough. but it puts in place a cut, cap, and balanced approach which is what most republicans supported. >> republican senator john thune, thank you for coming on this morning. >> thank you, chuck. was president's too little too late? we'll ask dan pfeiffer why this didn't happen a few weeks ago. will the president really get out his veto plan? and still to come, daily rundown geek fest. we're looking at which party is most likely to win senate

majority in 2012 with two of the best, charlie and stu. i told you yesterday, you never know what is going to happen. we don't see him publicly. but who's to say that doesn't change? you're watching daily rundown only on msnbc. honey, i can't walk any faster. [ female announcer ] oscar mayer deli fresh turkey comes in a clear pack... [ cellphone beeps ] [ jeff ] ooh. thanks hun! [ female announcer ] ...so the freshness you see is what you taste. ♪ it doesn't get better than this ♪ but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

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no one wants to be blamed for letting the koirnt tree default. it's not what the president wants. is he really prepared to veto it. dan is on the white house lawn. mr. pfeiffer, welcome. >> hi, how are you? >> anything that gets out of the house and senate at this point,

that can pass the united states senate and the house and gets to the president's desk, that lifts the debt ceiling for any amount of time, will the president sign it? >> well, i would say a couple things, chuck. first, what is clear, any short-term extension cannot pass the united states senate. for two reasons. one, as you were talking with senator thune, we do not want to go down this path again six, nine months later. and, two, the rating agencies have suggested that a short-term path would put us at greater risk of downgrade. we don't want to do that. the white house chief of staff asked us a question on sunday by your colleague, david gregory, and he answered it clearly. right now there's no danger of any bill getting to the president's desk because we're at stalemate. the house is insisting on a bill that they know has no chance of passing the united states senate. >> at this point, the reid plan and boehner plan have more in

common than perhaps came across last night between the president and the speaker. is that fair? >> well, it's absolutely true that there are many easy ways in which we can compromise and get this done. there are many paths that speaker boehner can take that work with senator reid and the white house that finds a solution equitable to everyone. but they are unwilling to do that. their approach has been my way or the highway so we can get 100% of what they want. as long as they continue to do that, we'll be stuck in a stalemate. >> speaker boehner said on sunday that his final offer is still on the table. a, do you believe that is true? and would you take it? >> i know that that is not the case because we have talked to the speaker about possibly taking his last offer with a few minor tweaks and he was unwilling to do that. let's be clear where we are. senator mcconnell had a proposal that would have averted this crisis. senator boehner made an over to

the white house and we turned it back to him and he doesn't want to do that. instead, they've taken approach that they've said before, my way or the highway. they are trying to demand to get 100% of what they want. they want the balance the backs on seniors, college students, not asking for a single nickel from millionaires and billionaires. we're not going to do that. what senator reid has done is put together a reasonable compromise that can pass the house. senator reid was with the president and senate republicans and a balanced approach that includes domestic spending cuts, defense spending and change in entitlements and asking wealthiest americans and corporations to pay a little bit more. there is bipartisan agreement where speaker boehner has refused to do that. >> so you're okay with the reid plan with no revenues? >> it's a much bitter way to

avert the crisis that we are now only seven days away from. >> there are a lot of reports that president calls to ask americans to call up their congressmen, e-mail them, close down a server or two. is this too little, too late. when the grand bargain that he described was actually still on the table, which doesn't appear to be so today. >> it reflects what the president was speaking to last night was a tremendous frustration out across the country among republicans and democrats and independents that for some in washington compromise as dirty word and so i think people reacted to that. and for the point as to whether the president has been out there, as you know, the president has been in the white house briefing room taking questions from reporters. >> i understand that. >> so often that i think jay carney is starting to get

nervous that the president may want his job. >> i hear that. but at the same time you guys made the case that, hey, the president has been talking about this and you said a big group of people haven't been engaged on this and then the question is, where was this plan two or three weeks ago that this strategy, if you wanted to create some sort of national public pressure on speaker boehner? >> well, i think that the -- the reason we went out last night was also to be about the fact that we are seven days away from an event that has never happened in the history of the united states and it was important to tell the american people, not just to calm the action but to understand what it means if we are not able to pay our obligations come a week from today if we are downgraded and what that would mean in terms of higher interest rates, car owners, college students with loans, credit card loans, all of the above. we're going to continue making that case until we see some movement from the house of

representatives that they are willing to compromise. we have met them more than halfway. they have to do what is right for the country, not for the caucus. >> when was the last time that the president and speaker spoke? >> they were in contact over the weekend and they will be in contact. we need to see some action and until we see a move from the house of representatives, that's the path that we are on. >> dan, thanks for coming on. see you later. >> thank you. >> okay. well, t-minus seven days to default. the u.s.'s triple a credit rating could hang in the balance. we'll get a preview of wall street before the bell. once again, courtesy of our new twitter buddy, i promised that i need to do a shout out later, he asked who was the last u.s. president in the white house

while losing his home state? send me the answer @chucktodd and@dailyrundown.

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we've already answered some of the nation's toughest questions. and the over sixty thousand people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers. okay. did last night's speech move the markets? becky quick joins us. >> i tell you what, chuck, we heard those words last night and boy did it sound like they were far apart. when it comes to wall street, it's a big fat yawn. they are not buying any of this again today, another day closer to this deadline. if you look at the market reaction today, it's next to nothing. in fact, most of these markets are flat to slightly down oil prices have moved by 14 cents

the ten year treasury continues to think that we will not go into default and that's something that was repeated today by every market watcher we talked to. we had someone from the ecb telling us the same thing that the world is watching and that's what they are expecting. chuck, at this point there are a lot of nonbelievers on wall street when it comes to all of this rhetoric getting tossed around. they are betting and putting their money on the idea that there will be a resolution. >> well, when it's a politically-created issue, you have to figure that washington will figure it out. becky quick, thank you very much. up next, a tiny break from the debt debate. some of the most competitive races in 2012. how do they do it. how dot democrats hold them off?

that's next on "the daily rundown." ♪ you know how i feel ♪ sun in the sky ♪ you know how i feel ♪ breeze drifting on by ♪ you know how i feel [ female announcer ] weight watchers, rated #1 best plan for weight loss by u.s. news and world report. join right now and you can join for a dollar. weight watchers. because it works.

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a few other stories making headlines. norway's brutal twin attacks that left 76 people dead, the suspect says that there are others joining his attack, according to his lawyer. breivik pled not guilty yesterday. another blue dog democrat. congressman mike ross announced he won't seek re-election in 2012. with his retirement, republicans are going to sweep all four house seats. it made the congressional seat a tough run. and the divide between whites and minorities have grown to the

whitest levels in 25 years, according to a housing bubble bust. there is a great recession disproportionately mine north leaving whites on eank with 20 times the net worth of black americans and 18 times of that hispanic americans. and football is back. those were the words of roger goodell announcing for the third time that they had cut a deal. but players reached a deal, a ten-year collective bargaining agreement. paving the way to start on time. training camp began this morning and all begin by sunday. i don't know what bob kraft was saying that the nfl was harder than the debt ceiling deal. buddy, come to washington. the republican's debt plan would gain more traction if they had a senate majority.

well, that's the goal from mitch mcconnell in his conference, hoping to net four seats in the chamber in the 2012 election. so let's break it down with the big boys. charlie cook, publish of the cook report and stu, editor of the rot then berg political report. >> he's already making fat jokes. >> by the way, it's louisiana week. i had john brill here yesterday and i get charlie today. we can look at where we are, busting out the ipad. i know that you guys love this. it's a 53/47 majority. they have to net four or three if republicans get the presidency. so let's look at the best opportunity for stu for the republican. we put up, you seem to collectively agree, six states that are already leaning republican or pure toss ups. >> north dakota was in the bank

already. it's a good, open seat. and then after that you go to three or four races and i think even money for the republicans and you have to like how they started. that would be nebraska, montana, or missouri in difficult states fundamentally leaning states. >> look, charlie cook, you take those four, pure toss ups all the way to election day, take those other four. of those four, which ones should democrats feel as if they have the best chance of stopping the republicans? >> well, i think florida is the toughest. >> we'll go to the next list. i want to go to this first list, missouri, nebraska, iowa, montana, the first four that republicans like to talk about, which is the toughest for the republicans? >> i would say certainly not nebraska.

certainly not -- maybe -- i guess would you rather be tester or mccaskill? >> i think i'd rather be tester. i don't know why. i think he's got better candidate skills. i think he's got more sure footed then claire mccaskill. >> i think i'd rather be claire mccaskill, only for this reason. the republican field in that race is uncertain, unclear. dennis steelman is an interesting potential challenger but has weakness. todd aiken, just under a quarter of the state, only for that reason would i rather be claire mccaskill. >> one of the things in this cycle is that this cycle of senators in 200, 2006 was big years. there is a ton of democratic and incumbent seats up. >> and they want squeakers just

because of the environment. >> and that brings us to the next four republican opportunities. we bring these in uphill battles. right now the republicans are probably ahead but they may not be. and i ask you this, of these four, new mexico, michigan, ohio, florida, which of these is a toss up in 20122? >> i think bill nelson is extremely, em treemly vulnerable in florida. he's somebody that has had extremely weak opposition. the state has been turning away from him and he's had very, very weak opposition. this time he's not going to have a bill mcconnell or somebody ending up being somebody tougher or it will be a tougher year. >> you'd rather be brown than nelson? that's basically what charlie is saying. >> i think brown will have a hard time. having said that, always going with the fundamentals in florida is the toughest for the

democrats. >> florida or new mexico, which is going to pop as a republican opportunity? >> they are both difficult but i kind of like heather wilson and think if the republicans are able to nominate -- if the republicans are able to nominate here in new mexico, i think she would be an interesting candidate. >> i don't think it's romney related as much as democrats worried about the whole russ belt and that it's a tough, tough region for this economy and there are a handful of opportunities that democrats like to talk about. we put up three on the board. nevada, indiana, massachusetts. nevada seems the most obvious. it's a swing state. we get why that's an opportunity. i've heard concerns that he's not charisma mat particular for vegas and that might be a

problem. >> when you look at the numbers of the state, how closes these races have been. >> they are all close. >> who was the charisma example? >> right. >> it may be overrated. >> very nice. i want to go to massachusetts. i know you're a skeptic, charlie, about democrats' opportunities here. scott brown puts out a poll and it was right after elizabeth warren made it clear that she's probably going to run for senate. democrats are talking about this. he puts out a poll of him leading big and he was sitting at 53. that's what democrats keep telling me, which is, hey, this is a democratic state in a presidential election year. scott brown is not going to have an easy time. >> i don't know. i think they have alienated a lot of swing voters in the state. i think, first of all, brown's

approval ratings are higher than the 53. 53 is probably the ceiling of what a republican can get there. and also i think it was about fundraising, to be perfectly honest. >> when you're sitting at 53, if you're republicans, you don't think, how many brown voters are there? >> absolutely. we are having a series of parliamentary elections. for the same reason that the republicans have thing advantages in places like nebraska and north dakota, the democrats -- >> 53-47 after all of the money has gone in. >> interesting. we didn't get to indiana. i think that depends on a lot of tea party world. thank you. you know we're going to do this a lot. >> yeah. >> good way to start. thank you both. up next, it's the super tuesday panel. we'll place our bets on the debt ceiling end game. plus, on the ropes in iowa. we're up to round three of this pawlenty bachmann boxing match. every day pawlenty goes to a city hits bachmann. and what is christie? he can't say anything nice about the republican field.

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as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now. one week from today. we'll either be breathing a sigh of relief or there will be no shortage of finger pointing and we like to think bargaining. the political panel, liz, welcome back. for the associated press. political editor. let me get that right. and then, of course, our own luke russert, who has been living on capitol hill but you came to this side of washington. >> i did. >> up in the birds to be with you. >> call this the birds. unbelievable.

>> real people do live in the spring valley. all right. we've got as close to a debate as we're going to have on the debt ceiling. in fact, we've put it together to show obama v. boehner together. here you go. >> if you want a balanced approach to reducing the deficit, let your member of congress know. >> president obama and the house republicans. it isn't about congress and the white house. it's about the standard between the american people and the future we seek for ourselves and our families. it's a dangerous game that we've never played before and we can't afford to play it now. >> in washington, more spending and more debt is business as usual. i've got news for washington. those days are over. >> luke russert, where are we with the reid and boehner negotiations? because it's my understanding that they are talking actively right now. >> well, let's talk about the bills first. the reid bill is done in the house, will not be moved, might not be able to garner closure.

>> let it go. >> let it go. >> and reid's bill would pass. >> correct. >> in the house, john boehner now with mccarthy and can for, it's a team effort, trying to garner the 217 votes that they need to get this thing out of the house. for all intents and purposes, the boehner plan will be the vehicle that will allow the nation not to default. it's going to have to have democratic input to get to the united states senate or you can get in this precarious situation and it's the only thing that passed the house on monday night and what happened. >> listen, look, he mentioned arm twisting. because there was a lot of republicans, a surprising amount, some of them were not surprising of what they did but some went publicly saying that they were not for the boehner plan and now you're hearing some talk of boehner and reid might want to get together sooner to get democratic votes. >> you saw him -- you could see behind kind of what his

posturing was last night when he paints obama as an obstructionist. what is going on behind the scenes is that neither side has the votes right now so both sides are saying, just in case this doesn't happen, it's this guy's fault. it's not my fault. >> it's getting louder and more and if the bill passes, we're going to get to that point on monday night? >> no. in the same way that there was parliamentary talk of doing parliamentary procedure during health care. remember, scott brown -- >> people monday pass? >> demon. >> i just don't think you can do that after you've had such a protracted debate about something that is, regardless of where you come down on it, is clearly a fundamental piece. it's a policy in american going forward, the politics in america going forward, the idea that we

would say, yes and no. let's move on to the next bill, and i don't think you can get away with that. this is a point that i think is really an important one, too. everyone is saying, john boehner is standing in the way. if john boehner would like to find a way to compromise. >> there is a frustration, you can almost hear it in senator thune's voice today. what have you done? you've put us in a position and the senator is saying that republicans don't have to, you put them in a position where they actually are losing a tax argument. they've never lost a tax argument before with the middle of the country. is this split a some point going to harm the relationship between house republicans? >> what is your favorite phrase, chuck? elections have consequences? >> yes. >> how amazing is it that half of the freshman have garnered so

much power in washington, d.c.? it's an amazing thing and i think political scientists will be flabbergasted by it. they don't exist. you essentially have the old deal makers, like john boehner, the pragmatists and eric cantor and the path way for it trying to deal with the 87 house republicans and what they didn't get through. it does hurt senate republicans. it does hurt guys trying to win in those states in which independent swing voters. but these guys see cutting as their m.o. >> on the democratic side, 54 blue dogs, and before the 2010 election, there are 25 now and four of them are running for either office. it's decimated. the compromise doesn't exist. >> the disease, chris, liz, luke russert, hang on.

we have to do 2012 after the break. first we ask, who was the last u.s. president to win the white house while losing his home state? it's richard nixon. he was a new york resident in 1968 when he won the white house. he's no longer a california resident but there you go. if you don't count nixon, you'd have to go all the way back to woodrow wilson. our thanks to jeff greenfield for that one and i promise mr. gre greenfield a shoutout, follow him for political information and a couple of laughs. we'll be right back. i couldn't conceive this as a heart attack. the doctor leaned over and said to me, "you just beat the widow-maker." i was put on an aspirin, and it's part of my regimen now. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. go see your doctor now. it's schwab at your fingertips wherever, whenever you want.

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all right. let's bring back our panel chris christie went to iowa, and the

world hasn't changed. nothing shook, but here's what he said to the iowa education summit -- if i believe someone can distinguish themselves in a way on the issues irka care about that i feel enthusiastic about, i will. i'm not a halfway guy. crist christie just cannot bring himself to praise this current field, which is why the speculation continues. >> he can't get to a yes. >> thank you. >> it's like a remarkable thing. he's smart enough to know what he probably should say is when asked, no, you know, it's not the right time for me, but we have a great field and anyone can beat president obama. what does she say? the field's okay. look, he went to iowa, he does sit-downs on national television -- he wants the attention. >> it does feel -- >> whether or not he's running or not -- >> it does feel as if he's looking for a way to get in.

that's what it feels like, but he actually doesn't know how to sell it. >> i actually take a different tack on this. i think it's more about chris christie loving the attention, and that's who he is, but the question is out there. is he a distraction to the field? or is he actually boosting the gop field by continuing to engage in this. if you look at what happened yesterday, a whole host of candidates were in iowa, and christie was there, and no endorsement, but criticizing the field. >> i think if. luke russert, michele bachmann, tim pawlenty, yesterday a lot of reporters were given a transcript on the latest missive against michele bachmann. he went after he again

yesterday, and he said, you know, there's a big difference between talking and getting stuff done. i get stuff down. tim pawlenty has found his target, it is michele bachmann. will he go after her the next time they debate, two days before the straw poll? >> when john king questions your manhood on national tv, you better be prepared to respond. part of what bachmann makes her unique, if you will, is that she's more than willing to introduce legislation that she knows hasn't a chance of passing, but completely garners her the support. >> she channelsened angry and frustrated. >> she's more than happy to say that nothing i've ever done has become the rule of law, because i'm still in the trenches fighting for it, supporting it. tim pawlenty is a consensus builder, and that's a sellout. that's how she sells it. she has a dedicated following, even on capitol hill. >> but expectations are reversed

bachmann has to win the straw poll? >> yes, i think so. >> no, absolutely not. >> let me make my argument. >> very quickly. >> 22 bachmann, nobody else is close. what's the argument for why she didn't win? >> i think both need strong showings in the straw poll. >> luke russert, shameless plug, go. >> tomorrow starting the filming of "inside capitol hill." and go to my mom's website. i love my mom. >> unprecedented access to boehner and reid in a moment of truth. chris cillizza. >> my favorite new twitter feed is avmt rick perry facts. it's well worst faneuil for the amusement factor only. >> and we have a nice huntsman story about how he's going to go head to head in new hampshire, he has to do it out of

necessity. >> a real shameless plug. that's it for this edition of "the daily rundown." see you here tomorrow. bye-bye. here's your bhis travel forecast. i'm meteorologist bill -- a lot of areas will see a chance of thunderstorms. northern new england could have damaging winds with these storms, also atlanta in the southeast, you're going to deal with some showers and storms, but the worst in the northern plains, possibly even a few tornadoes.